Hydrating mixing chambers are known and hydration chambers that include ambient air are also known. While the known chambers have improved both the hydration and mixing of ingredients, there is still a desire to have better distribution or separation of the ingredients presented for hydration.
Feeding flour with a mechanical feeder, such as a screw feeder, means the bulk of the flour is transported by forces from the back pushing the flour through a pipe. These forces result in compacting of the flour. In addition, granular materials, like flour, are often stored in large quantities and the stored material has an angle of repose at which it wants to be stable. The resulting compaction impacts hydration and needs to be overcome. Consequently, when the flour reaches the exit of the flour feeder, the flour had been compressed in some part into aggregates of the granular material.
Flour behaves differently when its internal forces are eliminated and it becomes fluidized. When fluidized, flour can be handled similar to liquids. Specifically, clumps are broken into flour particles with a larger and more available surface area. The advantage to hydrated fluidized flour is reflected in the mixing result. The more even the flour feeding occurs, the more homogenous the mixed result.